Denkov responded to Osmani: There is nothing wrong with the dialogue with the RSM being more intensive, but the tasks for Skopje remain the same

"There is nothing wrong to intensify the dialogue with the RSM, to have more discussions and meetings, but this does not change anything in terms of Bulgaria's position towards the so-called European compromise, which followed the French proposal and where the RSM has to fulfil certain tasks."

This is what Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov.

Denkov commented on the words of RSM Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani in Dubrovnik, who said that "the dialogue with Bulgaria should be more intensive".

"There is nothing wrong with us talking about business projects and everything that would be useful for both countries, but this does not change Bulgaria's foreign policy position in any way," the prime minister said.

Starting next year Bulgaria will abide by the decision adopted at the last NATO summit, which states that NATO member states should allocate at least 2% of their GDP to their national defence budgets. "For this year Bulgaria has set 1.88% of GDP and for 2024 it will be 2%. From next year we will meet this NATO requirement, and it is related to the complicated environment. We have to strengthen the capacity of the Bulgarian army," said Acad. Denkov told BGNES. "With a budget like this, which is made at the end of the year, we need to drive transfers in different directions as quickly as possible. For example, the Association of Municipalities has been saying for a long time that mayors cannot form their budgets because they are waiting for the national budget. Separately, you can see that there are requests from various groups in the Ministry of the Interior, as well as those from the National Social Security Institute, who want an increase. In order to ensure a 3% deficit, which is a high priority for us, we must now look to reallocate funds if we are going to make new ones. In other words, if we have to add up to 2% this year, which none of our partners want, we would have to take it from somewhere else, and we don't think that is wise," said Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov. / BGNES